EDP seeks to attract more women to STEM careers with the global campaign #REBELSFORCHANGE
Professions in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) still have low female participation. This is a reality that EDP wants to help to reverse through the global campaign #REBELSFORCHANGE, in line with its own ambition to strengthen the presence of women in the company.
The labour market needs 136 more years to close the gender gap worldwide, estimates the World Economic Forum - an imbalance that seems even more marked in technical areas, such as engineering or technology, which remain heavily male dominated.
EDP is launching #REBELSFORCHANGE, a global campaign to raise awareness and promote the participation of more women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) careers. This global initiative runs in parallel with EDP's own ambition to increase the percentage of female representation to at least 30% by 2025.
"We want to promote female participation in EDP, including within Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics careers, and in this way, contribute to awakening the interest of young women in these areas. We have this responsibility to society, and it is a commitment that we assume," explains Miguel Stilwell d'Andrade, CEO of EDP and EDP Renewables. "Campaigns like this are fundamental to help remove obstacles that prevent women from accessing careers in these areas of expertise and to make the world a better and equal place for all" he reinforces.
With a white helmet as its symbol, the #REBELSFORCHANGE campaign wants to draw attention to the issue of classification of jobs and gender stereotyping, which still leads to many tasks being distinguished as being typical of men or women. This was demonstrated in an experiment with children between 4 and 12 years old. In a neutral space, they were placed in front of two mannequins, symbolising a man and a woman. They were then asked to assign each one different uniforms and working tools, such as a microscope, a football or a hairdryer. In the case of the white helmet, for example, most of the children put it on the male mannequin, thus highlighting the stigma of a professional area where women are still a minority.
This experiment - as shown in this video - is one of the initiatives that is part of #REBELSFORCHANGE campaign. Over the next three months, the campaign will include several interventions on the EDP group's social networks, including testimonials of female employees in technical careers and other actions.
The main objective of the campaign is to open the debate and bring the topic to a wider public, especially young people who may aspire to a STEM career, raising actions in some schools, and showing the professional opportunities that may arise in these areas, including at EDP. In fact, it will be possible to apply for some of these areas through a specific EDP website - edp.com/rebelsforchange - created during this campaign.
With this initiative, EDP continues to reinforce its commitment to recognise the value of women in the labour market, including for those who develop careers in STEM. Furthermore, the company is committed to a corporate culture of diversity and inclusion, which has been recognised internationally - an example of this is EDP’s inclusion for second consecutive year in the Bloomberg's renowned Gender Equality Index.
